Search form

Nine great moments in AFC and NFC Championship games

1982: 49ers 28, Cowboys 27

Joe Montana's last-minute touchdown pass to leaping wide receiver Dwight Clark over cornerback Everson Walls on Jan. 10, 1982 gave the upstart 49ers a stunning victory against "America's Team" and sent San Francisco to its first Super Bowl.<br><br>The victory marked the beginning of a dyasty for the 49ers, who won four Super Bowls during the 1980s.<br><br><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tunyz0WWLSI" target="blank">Video: Joe Montana drives 49ers to game-winning touchdown culminating with "The Catch."</a>.

Credit:

Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

1984: Redskins 24, 49ers 21

Quarterback Joe Theismann threw three touchdown passes to lead Washington to a 21-0 lead, which evaporated in the fourth quarter against Joe Montana and San Francisco. However, Theismann and running back John Riggins helped engineer the winning drive, capped by Mark Mosely's short field goal and send the Redskins to the Super Bowl for the second straight season.

Credit:

Getty Images

1987: Broncos 23, Browns 20

In what has been called "The Drive," Denver quarterback John Elway led his team on a 98-yard drive in the final minutes of regulation to tie the game on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Mark Jackson. Elway then helped set up Rich Karlis' game-winning field goal in overtime.<br><br><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bypo-WhahYo" target="blank">Video: Elway drives Broncos 98 yards.</a>

Credit:

Getty Images

1988: Broncos 38, Browns 33

Earnest Byner looks for running room against the Broncos. Byner and Cleveland couldn't escape another tough loss in the title game, as Byner fumbled the ball in the final minutes, just yards from the Broncos' end zone.<br><br><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqjIq1ZFZsk&feature=related" target="blank">Video: Ernest Byner fumbles at the 2-yard line.</a>

Credit:

Getty Images

1991: Giants 15, 49ers 13

Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler and kicker Matt Bahr celebrate Bahr's kick in the final moments of the NFC Championship game on Jan. 20 in San Francisco. The Giants, who had lost to San Francisco earlier in the season, slowed down San Francisco's high-powered offense and denied them a three-peat.<br><br><a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M12S1-TEJ9c" target="blank">Video: Matt Bahr's game-winning field goal.</a>

Credit:

Getty Images

1999: Falcons 30, Vikings 27

Minnesota kicker Gary Anderson watches as his 39-yard field goal misses in the final seconds of their Jan. 17 game in Minneapolis. Anderson, one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, hadn't missed a field goal all season.